A Family Christmas
by goshinote
Summary: It's Christmas time at the Higurashi household, and a certain hanyo appears at the beginning of the celebration. Christmas is about joy, peace, and love, right? Who better to get a little bit of those things than Inuyasha? Full of holiday cheer, family, and fluff...Complete!


Hi! I decided to try and write a holiday story this year, and I actually started this back in August lol but I just finished it tonight. I wasn't quite sure about the differences in Japan during the holidays, so I based this story on the Christmas traditions that I'm used to. It's just an idea that came to me and I thought it would be fun to write!

Also, this is set during The Final Act. I couldn't think of an exact point in the series to set this little story, but just know that it would be some time in TFA :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

 **A Family Christmas**

I love Christmas.

I love the snow, the cold, the sights, the smells, and the overall feeling of joy. My whole family loves Christmas, and we put the tree up together every year. It goes up on December first, and we usually like to leave it up until the middle of January. Yes, we are those people that try to keep Christmas around as long as possible.

As I walked into my house, I was met with the smell of gingerbread and my mom's favorite Christmas station blasting from the radio. A smile broke out on my face and I couldn't help but sing along under my breath. It was December eighteenth and I was feeling festive because I only had a few days of school left before Christmas break. When it was Christmastime, I didn't care about being stressed out about school, and now I didn't care about being stressed out about finding the Jewel.

 _Crap._

I internally kicked myself. I'd forgotten to tell Inuyasha that I wouldn't be returning to the Feudal Era for the next week and a half. I knew he would be mad so I'd waited to tell him, but I didn't think I'd forget altogether.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to just stay here. It he got irritated enough, then he'd come and I'd explain Christmas.

My heart jumped a little. If Inuyasha came, he could spend Christmas with us. My mind drifted to the mistletoe that Mom had hung over the doorway of the well house, as if a silent nudge to Inuyasha and I. If I met Inuyasha there, we'd be under the mistletoe together…and maybe…

I shook the thought from my head. Inuyasha didn't know what Christmas was, let alone what mistletoe was or what it meant. But, hey. A girl could dream.

I made my way into the kitchen and saw Mom wearing her legendary Christmas apron. She was singing along to the Christmas carol that was playing and taking out gingerbread cookies from the oven.

"Hi, Mom," I said over the music. Mom turned around to smile at me.

"Hello, dear!" she replied happily. "I made cookies. They'll be cooled down in about ten minutes and then you and Sota can have some." I clapped my hands together in excitement.

"Is Inuyasha coming today?" Mom asked. "It would be lovely if he could be with us for Christmas."

I hesitated. She shared my hope for a Christmas with Inuyasha, obviously for a different reason, but I knew that Inuyasha would just be confused. I didn't want him to get embarrassed if he didn't understand a tradition or a phrase.

I could see the word _Keh!_ coming out of his mouth more times than I'd like to hear.

"I didn't tell him about it," I replied. "He might come to bring me back to the Feudal Era, but if he does then I'll just tell him to go back without me. I'll have to go meet them all at the village a few days after Christmas, but I'll come home again on New Year's Eve." Mom frowned.  
"You should at least invite him" she countered. "You always talk about how quickly he can learn his special attacks, right? Who's to say that he can't quickly learn about Christmas?" I paused. She had a point.

"Okay," I finally said. "You're right. I'll go back to the village and invite him." Mom smiled widely. I waved her off good-naturedly and headed out the front door.

I quickly made my way to the well house, unsure if I was rushing because of the cold or my excitement to see Inuyasha.

As if on cue, as soon as I slid the door open, Inuyasha was jumping out of the well and running up the steps.

We nearly crashed into each other, but he managed to grab a hold of my arm and steady me.

"Be careful," he said grumpily. I couldn't help but smile. It had only been two days, but I'd missed him. It was actually a little embarrassing.

"Where have you been?" Inuyasha asked. "You've been gone for two days!" I frowned. I definitely did _not_ miss his complaining.

"That's what I was coming to talk to you about," I replied. "I wanted to…" At that moment, I realized that we were standing in the doorway of the well house. Glancing up, I saw that we were right under the mistletoe. My words caught in my throat as I stared up at it in wonder.

 _This is one of the few times that I wish Inuyasha were from the future._

"What are you looking at?" he asked as he glanced up. He peered at the mistletoe and frowned.

"What the heck kind of plant is that?" he asked. I shook my hand and pulled him out of the well house completely.

"It's called mistletoe," I replied quickly. "Let's go inside. It's freezing out here." I slid the door closed behind Inuyasha.

We walked to the house together, and I couldn't help the sigh of relief I breathed when we walked inside to the comforting heat.

Once Inuyasha was through the front door, he immediately started coughing. I set a hand on his back and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He shook his head and tried to calm his coughing fit.

"What's…that…smell?" he asked between coughs. _Oops, the gingerbread._

"It's called gingerbread," I replied. "I didn't think the smell would be strong enough to make you react like this."

"Kagome?" Mom called. "Are you alright?" Mom walked out of the kitchen and when she saw Inuyasha with me, she smiled.

He coughed one last time and seemed to get it under control. "I'm good," he murmured to me. I knew he wouldn't want to worry my mom. Sometimes I forgot how considerate he was.  
"Merry Christmas, Inuyasha!" Mom exclaimed. Inuyasha looked confused.

"Merry who's-a-what-now?" he asked. Mom and I both started laughing, but I could see Inuyasha becoming a little self-conscious. I immediately tried to kill off my laughter, and one glance at Mom told her to do the same.

 _Nicely done, Kagome,_ I thought to myself. _This is exactly what you were trying to avoid!_

Luckily, Mom got the hint and she quickly stopped. Instead, she smiled at Inuyasha.

"Christmas is a holiday we celebrate," she explained. "It has a lot of different meanings, but we like to focus on the joy and love parts of it." Mom motioned to her apron.

"There's a lot of baking that goes along with it, too," she continued. "I just baked gingerbread cookies. Would you like one?" Inuyasha hesitated, but he finally nodded.  
"Sure," he replied. "Uh, thank you." Mom beckoned us into the kitchen and I glanced at Inuyasha.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to," I whispered. "It has a strong taste. Mom won't be offended if you don't like it." Inuyasha shrugged.

"It can't hurt to try," he replied. I smiled at him as Mom turned up her music. Inuyasha looked around quickly and posed in a fighting stance.

"What is that?" he asked menacingly. "Is that some sort of singing yokai?"

It took every ounce of willpower to not burst into laughter.

"No," I replied. "It's called a radio. It plays music. This one plays Christmas music." Inuyasha put his fists down, but he still looked suspicious.

"Here you go," Mom said as she handed Inuyasha a cookie. Inuyasha took it and tried to smile at Mom. He took a bite and immediately started coughing.

Mom's smile burned up into a concerned gaze. "Are you alright?" she asked. Inuyasha nodded.

"It has an intense scent," he replied. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"It tastes really good though," he said. "I'll just have to eat it slowly." Inuyasha touched his nose. "I have a strong sense of smell. I just need to get used to these bread-ginger cookies." Mom smiled at his butchering of the phrase.

"I'm so happy that you like it," she replied. "Kagome, _It's a Wonderful Life_ is on TV. You two go watch it while I finish up the second batch of cookies." I nodded and gently pulled Inuyasha into the living room.

"What's she talking about?" he asked. I grimaced.

"It's a movie," I replied. "It's Mom's favorite but I don't like it. She thinks I love watching it but I just pretend I do for her sake." Inuyasha smiled.

"You're too nice for you own good," he said. I felt a blush coming on, but I tried to hide it by turning to the TV.

"Maybe you'll like it," I replied. "I'll turn it on anyway." I went to grab the remote, but Inuyasha set his hand on mine before I could.

"Kagome, how long does this Chrishmurst thing last?" he asked. "We need to go back." I frowned. _Just when I was having a nice time…_

"I want to stay here for at least another eight days," I replied boldly. Inuyasha frowned. "No," he said.

"Yes," I countered. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at me.

" _No_."

" _Yes_."

"Whatever," Inuyasha said as he stood up. "See you in eight days." He turned to walk out of the room, but I quickly jumped up and followed him out the front door.

"Inuyasha, wait," I said. "Why don't you stay a while longer? Don't just leave." Inuyasha turned around to face me. Instead of an angry gaze, his eyes looked sad and a little bit embarrassed.

"No," he replied. "This is obviously a family hollee-day or whatever. Just be with them. I'll come back in eight days." Before he could walk away again, I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Inuyasha, _you_ are family, too," I said. "Mom wanted me to come invite you to spend Christmas with us. That's why I was coming to the well in the first place." Inuyasha looked surprised, but a hard look of defensiveness overtook it.

"You don't have to pity me," he replied. "I'll just go." I tugged on his hand.

"Please stay?" I asked. Inuyasha shook his head. He pulled his hand out of my grasp and started to walk away.

"Inuyasha, wait!" I called after him. Inuyasha didn't look back as he slid the well house door open and disappeared inside after closing the door behind him.

I sighed and walked back to my house. I met Mom in the kitchen and took a cookie. Maybe I could just eat away my sorrows.

Mom smiled at me. "Where's Inuyasha?" she asked. I shook my head. "He left," I replied. "I knew this would be too much for him." Mom looked at me sadly.

"You tried, dear," she said. "He knows he's welcome. Maybe he'll come back." I took a deep breath and tried to smile.

"Maybe," I replied, more for her benefit than my own belief.

That night, I lay awake in my bed thinking about Inuyasha.

I half-expected him to knock on my window that night and do his usual passive-aggressive, not quite apology, but he never did.

He didn't come back the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. I didn't just miss him; I knew that something must have been wrong.

It had been four days, but Inuyasha still hadn't come back. Each night, I opened the window in my bedroom and looked around for him.

Nothing.

On the fourth night he hadn't come, I heaved a heavy sigh before finally closing the window and crawling into bed. Inuyasha wouldn't be coming tonight, and I doubted he would be coming tomorrow either. Even so, I left the window unlocked just in case.

Inuyasha never stayed away this long. I knew he must have been more than just mad…

He was hurt, too.

I didn't understand it, though. Of course he was welcome in my house. He always had been. Why wouldn't he want to be a part of everything?

Then I realized it.

Inuyasha had said he knew it was a _family_ holiday. Inuyasha never really had a family, and I knew that seeing us all together must have been hard for him.

 _I'm sure it's hard for him every time he comes here_ , I thought to myself.

But he has a family now. He just doesn't realize it.

Suddenly, I had an idea. A huge smile broke onto my face.

The next morning, I filled Mom in on what I was planning and quickly ran to the mall. I had an idea about this Christmas, but I needed to buy a few things. Since I was officially on Christmas break, I had plenty of time.

Once I had everything I needed, I booked it home to prepare everything before I jumped into the well. The cosmic energy surrounded me, and I found my excitement growing.

When I reached the other side, I jumped out of the well and ran to Kaede's house. I pushed the curtain aside and saw Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kaede, and Inuyasha all seated around a pot of stew.

"Hi, everyone!" I said when I walked in. I was greeted with smiles and happy hellos as I sat down.

"What's all that?" Sango asked. I smiled and pulled the bags out.

"In the future," I began, "we have a holiday called Christmas. It's all about spreading joy and love, but it's also about spending time with your family. So I came here to bring a little Christmas and to spend some time with my family from the past." Inuyasha's eyes locked with mine and I smiled warmly at him. Before he could react, Shippo ran over and jumped into my arms.

"That sounds so fun!" he shouted as he hugged me. I laughed and gently set him beside me.

"At Christmas, we give gifts," I explained. "So I brought each of you a present."

I passed everything out to the respective recipients and looked at them expectantly.

"Okay, now you open them!" I said, my voice filled with excitement.

Shippo was the first to unwrap his gift, and I heard him shriek with delight.

"Kagome, these are great!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!" He held up the big box of crayons and the three pack of coloring books I'd gotten him. He immediately opened up the crayons and started coloring.

Kaede was the next to open hers. "Oh, how lovely," she said when she opened oven mitts I'd brought her. They were a muted green with pink cherry blossoms on them. I figured Kaede didn't know what they were, so I was quick to explain them to her.

"They're for when you're cooking," I explained. "You wear them when you have to move a pot so that it won't burn your hands." Kaede smiled warmly.

"Thank you, child," she replied.

Sango's delighted gasp came when she pulled out the small assortment of hand creams and lotions I'd brought her. She'd been having some trouble with her wrist lately; I was pretty sure she'd pulled a muscle in our last yokai fight.

"Those have a special soothing formula in them," I said. "It should help with your wrist pain." I smiled. "They also smell really good." Sango smiled back at me.

"They smell wonderful," she said. "Thank you so much, Kagome-chan."

Miroku's gift was the one I was most nervous about giving. It was well-received by him, but I knew he was probably confused.

"My grandfather suggested I bring you those," I explained. "As soon as I told him that you were a monk, he freaked out and ran to his 'sacred shed.' They're supposed to be really powerful sutras. I'm not sure if they'll work…not a whole lot of his stuff does." We all laughed and Miroku thanked me.

"Just in case they really sucked," I began, "I also brought you some shoes from my time." Miroku had mentioned how his sandals were beginning to wear out, so I knew this would be a perfectly-timed gift.

"I got the ones that looked as close to yours as I could find," I continued. "They're supposed to be a really sturdy brand, so they'll last you a while." Miroku smiled at me.

"Thank you, Kagome," he replied. "I will very much enjoy these. And just in the few moments I've held these sutras, I actually do feel some sort of spiritual energy." My eyes widened.

"Really?" I asked. Miroku nodded. "Yes, but it's a little odd…" he trailed off. I eyed him. That didn't sound good.

"What's odd about them?" I asked. Miroku paused.

"Well…these feel like more of a…humorous kind of sutra," he explained. I had no idea what he meant. I'd never heard of sutras being "humorous."

"These are meant to attack your opponent…with tickling," he finished. I was shocked, but I soon dissolved into giggles. Everyone else followed suit, and I couldn't wait to get home and tell Grandpa about it.

"How are those even real?" I asked when we'd calmed our laughter. Miroku chuckled.

"I guess some monks have a sense of humor," he replied. We laughed and joked about it for a little bit longer, but then it was Inuyasha's turn to receive his gift.

He seemed a little embarrassed that we were all watching him, and he seemed even more embarrassed to be receiving a gift at all.

When he'd finally gotten it open, he just stared at it with an awestruck look on his face.

I'd decided to get him a small double-sided picture frame. On one side, I put a picture of all of us in the Feudal Era that I'd taken a while back when showing off my camera. On the other side, I put a picture of my family from the present. It had been a fright trying to get Inuyasha to take a picture with us, but when he'd stumbled upon our family portrait appointment at our house, Mom was quick to get him to join.

The bottom of the frame said _Family_. That's what I loved the most.

Inuyasha looked up at me. His eyes were in awe, and a small smile played on his lips. "Thanks," he said sincerely.

After we all spent some time together, it started getting late and I knew I needed to head home. I stood up and gathered all of the discarded wrapping paper and packaging.

I bid everyone goodbye and walked out of Kaede's house. When I was about halfway to the well, I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned around just in time to see Inuyasha reach his arms out and pull me close to him. I dropped the bag I was carrying, but I didn't notice. I was too enthralled to care.

Inuyasha was comfortingly warm, and his fresh, woodsy pine scent surrounded me as I put my arms around him and held him tightly.

"Thank you," he murmured in my hair. I smiled against his shoulder and nodded.

"You're welcome," I replied. He pulled away and I saw his very rare, but very happy smile set on me.

"Will you come to my house tomorrow?" I asked. "And the next day…and the next day…and the next day?" Inuyasha chuckled.

"Yeah," he replied, much to my surprise.

I leaned up and gently kissed his cheek. Inuyasha's cheeks turned bright red, but he didn't move away from me.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," I said. Inuyasha nodded, seemingly unable to speak.

When I passed through the well and reached the other side, a big smile had permanently taken up residence on my face.

Inuyasha was definitely a lot more interested in Christmas after he really knew that we all considered him part of our family. He asked more questions, tried more festive foods, and even helped put up the star on top of the Christmas tree.

I knew he was having fun, and that's what made it all worth it.

Christmas Eve came quickly, and Inuyasha had smiled more than I'd seen in a long time. That's when I realized just how much of a toll the search and fight for the shards had taken on him. I was so happy he was here; at least he could have a little break and a little sense of joy and peace.

Inuyasha and I had found perches on the couch and were enjoying the movie we were watching. I'd turned on _The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,_ and Inuyasha absolutely loved it. He'd chuckled quite a bit throughout the whole movie, and by the time the credits rolled around, he asked if we could watch it again.

We'd been in the middle of the second time watching it when Mom called us into the kitchen. I hit pause on the TV and led Inuyasha into the kitchen.

We were met by an absolutely heavenly aroma. Inuyasha had thankfully gotten used to the Christmas scents, so the strong-smelled foods Mom had been making hardly bothered him anymore.

I was ecstatic to see the plate of freshly baked snickerdoodles Mom had made. They were my absolute favorite kind of cookies.

"Inuyasha," I said excitedly as I handed him a cookie. "These are my favorites. You have to try one." Inuyasha took it from me and took a small bite.

"These are really good," he said after he'd swallowed. "They taste kind of like the…what's it called again? The bread-ginger cookies?" I giggled.

"Gingerbread," I corrected gently. "These are similar, but they have more cinnamon. They're called snickerdoodles. Do they bother your nose at all?"

"Keh!" he replied. It was probably the nicest way I'd heard him say _Keh!_ since we'd met almost a year ago. "These are way too good to let my nose ruin it for me. I'm fine actually, which is a relief because it would've sucked to not get to eat these." I laughed and Mom smiled.

"I'm so glad you like them," she said. "I'm also going to make…"

Mom was cut off by Sota shouting from the other room.

"Mom!" Sota shouted as he bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. "I need mistletoe!" Mom looked surprised.

"You need mistletoe?" she repeated. "Whatever for?" Sota was about to answer, but it seemed like he had noticed that Inuyasha and I were sitting at the table with front row seats to the dramatic Sota show.

"Uh," he said. "I just…I need some." I eyed him.

"Sota," I cut in. "Do you have a girl you want to kiss?" Sota's cheeks practically lit on fire.

"So what if I do?" he asked defensively. Mom and I laughed.

"Aww, Sota has a crush!" I exclaimed. " _Kawaiiiiii!"_

Mom reached over and pinched Sota's cheek.

"How do you even know about that tradition?" she asked. Sota frowned.

"Mom, I'm nine years old," he said, as if that were all the reason in the world. "I'm practically all grown up. I just need some mistletoe so I can kiss Sayuri!"

"Ooo, so she has a name?" I teased. Sota gave me a death glare.

"Please, Mom?" he begged.

Mom smiled before she walked over to the kitchen closet.

"Here's a small piece," she said as she handed it to him. "Which means a _small_ kiss. On the cheek." Sota nodded and took the mistletoe excitedly.

"Thanks, Mom!" he shouted as he bolted out of the room. Mom and I started laughing again and Inuyasha just sat there in confusion.

Sota nearly knocked Grandpa over in his hurry to go find the lucky girl, but luckily Grandpa wasn't fazed. He was probably in a trance from the smell of snickerdoodles.

"So…why did he want the mistletoe stuff?" Inuyasha asked. I paused, unsure of how to answer him in a way that wasn't embarrassing. Before I could give him some sort of response, Grandpa cut in.

"He wanted it to uphold that silly tradition," he said. "Mistletoe is just used as an excuse for two people to smooch," Grandpa turned to look at me. "Kagome, when your parents were younger, they used to put mistletoe in every doorway of the house. It was ridiculous. They were always kissing during Christmas." Mom blushed, and I realized then that I'd never seen her blush before.

"Father!" she scolded lightly. "We don't need to share that!" Grandpa shrugged.

"Well, it's true," he countered. He turned to Inuyasha. "Young man, you better not put mistletoe all around this house. I don't need to see all that from you and my granddaughter. Keep it private." I joined in on the blushing at that moment, and I was expecting Inuyasha to have fiery cheeks, too, but when I looked at him, he just seemed confused. I guess he hadn't caught on to what Grandpa was talking about.

At that moment, I was really, really glad that he didn't know everything about Christmas.

"Grandpa!" I scolded in a similar tone to Mom's. Grandpa held his hands up.

"We've all used mistletoe to our advantage before," he said. "No need to deny it." Mom and I looked at each other with flaming faces, but we couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Mom patted Grandpa's shoulder and offered him some snickerdoodles.

"Inuyasha," I said quickly, in an attempt to change the topic. "Do you want to go finish the movie?" Inuyasha nodded and I grabbed a few cookies before we headed back into the living room.

During the movie, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. I was exhausted from all of the food we'd eaten and from the fun we'd been having. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.

I woke up to Inuyasha gently tapping my cheek.

"Kagome?" he said quietly. I opened my eyes and found that I had my head on Inuyasha's shoulder. I glanced at the TV and saw the end credits rolling on the screen.

I sat up and turned to Inuyasha. "Sorry, I fell asleep," I said as I stretched. _And sorry that I totally fell asleep on you,_ I thought to myself.

"I need to go back through the well," he said. I frowned. "Are you not having a good time?" I asked. Inuyasha shook his head.

"No, no," he replied. "I am. I just need to grab some stuff from the other side. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." I nodded.

"Okay," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow." Before I knew it, Inuyasha was leaning forward to quickly kiss me on the cheek before standing up and walking out of the living room.

I smiled to myself and flopped back on the couch.

 _Best Christmas ever._

The next morning brought the gift exchanges. My family loved all of their gifts, and Mom made chocolate chip pancakes, which had been our Christmas morning tradition since I could remember.

"Where's Inuyasha?" she asked as we all sat down to eat.

"He had to grab some things from the other side," I replied. "He'll be here later."

"I'll save him some pancakes then," she said. "I don't want him to miss out." I smiled. _Man, Inuyasha is going to love having her as a mother-in-law,_ I thought to myself. Realizing what I'd just thought, I blushed and shook my head. There would be time for that later…I hope.

Inuyasha finally came back well after we were finished with our light lunch. Mom wanted to wait to have our big Christmas dinner until Inuyasha came home.

He walked through the door with a large sack slung over his shoulder. He met us all in the living room and smiled. With one look at him, I thought we were going to die of laughter.

In his red outfit, with his silver hair and that sack over his shoulder, he looked like a young, beardless Santa Claus.

This was one time when I just couldn't hold it back.

Mom, Grandpa, Sota, and I all started laughing. Tears were streaming down my and Sota's cheeks and Grandpa looked like he was going to pass out.

Inuyasha just stood there, shocked, until I was finally able to speak.

"Inuyasha," I began. "You look like Santa Claus!" I knew he didn't know who that was, so I grabbed one of the Christmas cards from an extended family member and showed him the little picture of Santa that was on it.

Inuyasha looked at the picture in scrutiny, and then he looked back up at us. "You think I look like him?" he asked. "Keh!"

We couldn't help it. We laughed even harder.

Inuyasha only rolled his eyes, but I could tell he wasn't mad. If anything, he seemed like he was a little glad that he made everyone laugh, even if he didn't quite understand the underlying humor.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," I said when we'd finally calmed down. "You just surprised us. Why do you have that big sack?" Inuyasha dropped said sack on the ground and knelt down beside it.

"Well, I brought you guys some stuff," he replied. "You said that people give each other gifts on Christmas. So I brought you guys some gifts." I smiled.

"Inuyasha, you didn't have to do that," I said. He looked at me and gave a small smile.

"That's what family does, right?" he replied. I nearly cried. He finally understood.

Inuyasha passed out the gifts and then came to sit down on the floor next to me.

He'd tried his best to wrap the presents like I had, and it was actually pretty impressive. He'd used what I figured was parchment from the past. He held the paper together with some sort of sticky stuff that I immediately decided to not ask him about. Ignorance is bliss.

"Thank you!" we chorused.

Sota was quick to freak out about his gift. Mom and I exchanged troubled looks when he held up what Inuyasha had brought him.

It was a giant, severed head of a lizard yokai. I figured Miroku had purified the yokai aura since I wasn't picking up on anything, so I knew it was technically safe for Sota…but it was so weird.

"This is _awesome_!" Sota shouted. "I can't wait to show all of my friends! Thanks, Inuyasha!" Without warning, Sota ran over and hugged Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked a little startled, but he still reached out and patted Sota's back, if not a little awkwardly.

"Sure thing, kid," he replied. "I'm glad you like it."

Grandpa was also ecstatic about his gift. It was a necklace made of sacred prayer beads. I could feel the spiritual energy radiating off of it, and even though I knew Grandpa couldn't really feel it, he would probably pretend he did.

Sure enough, I was right. "These are excellent," he commented. "I can feel the powerful aura." I had to stifle an eye roll.

"Thank you, young man," Grandpa said. "These are very nice." Inuyasha smiled.

"They're actually real," he replied. I subtly elbowed him. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"You know, like all your other stuff," he quickly added. I patted his hand and gave him a _Good save_ look. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

Mom was next to show off hers. Inuyasha had given her a traditional set of Miko garb. Mom looked at it in awe. "Inuyasha, it's beautiful," she said. "What kind of clothing is it?"

"Miko in my time wear it," he replied. "Kaede wears that sort of clothing and Kagome will eventually wear it, too." I glanced at him when he said that. _So I guess he sees me in his future,_ I thought to myself. _That's really nice to hear._

"I thought you might like to have it," he continued. "It's really important in the past." Mom smiled warmly.

"Thank you, dear," she said sincerely. "I love it." Inuyasha smiled at her and then turned to me.

"We have to go back to the other side for yours," he said. I was a little surprised, but I quietly nodded and stood up.

Inuyasha and I headed to the well-house quickly. It was freezing cold and I felt like my hands were going to fall off. I breathed a warm sigh of relief when we'd reached the well.

As we jumped in, I turned to Inuyasha and smiled. "Did you have fun?" I asked. He smiled back at me.

"Yeah," he replied. "It was nice." I took his hand as we traveled through to the other side.

When we jumped out of the well, Inuyasha led me straight to Goshinboku. Once we'd reached the trunk, he let go of my hand and jumped into the branches.

"Inuyasha?" I called. "What are you doing?" The leaves above me rustled.

"Hang on a second," he called back. I heard some murmured curses and a frustrated _Keh!_ and then all at once, Goshinboku lit up.

I gasped at the sight: Goshinboku was wrapped in Christmas lights. Well, I say wrapped, but they were mostly tangled up in the branches, but it was absolutely breathtaking.

It was the most perfect Christmas tree I had ever seen.

"Wow," I breathed.

Inuyasha had actually done a really good job with the lights; I was ridiculously impressed.

He jumped down from the branches and landed next to me. "Do you like it?" he asked as we met eyes. Instead of answering, I threw my arms around his neck.

"I _love_ it," I said. "It's absolutely beautiful." I felt Inuyasha's arms wrap around my waist and hold me tightly. After a moment, I pulled away and smiled at him before turning back to admire Goshinboku again.

"How did you get the lights?" I asked. "And how did you know how to use them?" Inuyasha looked up at his handiwork.

"Your mom told me a few days ago," he replied. "You were still asleep one morning so she and I were talking in the kitchen. I mentioned that I wanted to make Goshinboku full of lights like that big tree in your living room as your present, so she found some extra lights and explained how to use them. She gave me the kind that's, um, bat-or-ee operated?" I laughed. I'd have to remember to thank Mom when I got home.

"It's beautiful, Inuyasha," I said sincerely. "Thank you." Inuyasha smiled.

We went quiet for a few minutes as we admire the tree. It really was beautiful.

"Oh," Inuyasha said suddenly, breaking the silence. "There's something else." Curiosity piqued, I turned to him as he reached inside his sleeve.

"I hope you're not mad that I stole it from the well-house," he said sheepishly as he pulled out a small piece of mistletoe. My eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Your grandfather mentioned that you need it to…kiss someone, right?" he asked.

I paused. So he did catch on to what Grandpa was talking about.

 _Does that mean Inuyasha wants to…kiss me?_

"Yeah," I replied.

Inuyasha suddenly looked unsure of himself. "Yeah…so…" he trailed off. I laughed and took the mistletoe from his hand.

"You have to hold it up like this," I said as I lifted the mistletoe above us.

Inuyasha finally smiled as he reached up to touch my cheek. His hand moved from my cheek to my hair before he lowered his hands to wrap his arms around my waist. My free hand went up to cup his cheek as he leaned toward me.

Our lips met in a soft kiss. It was feather-light, like the wings of a butterfly. I finally lowered the hand with the mistletoe and wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer.

The kiss was soft and sweet and full of the kind of thing you can only feel during the holidays.

When we pulled away, Inuyasha smiled at me.

"You know how you said that Christmas is about joy and love?" he asked. I nodded.

"Well, I think I learned a lot about those things since I've been here this week," he said. I smiled and leaned forward to hug him.

I loved him, and even though he couldn't say it quite yet, he was letting me know that he loved me, too.

When we pulled away, Inuyasha gently took the mistletoe from my hand and put it back in his sleeve. "I think I'm gonna keep this," he said. "Never know when I might need it again." I laughed and laid my head on his chest.

"It only works during Christmas," I said. Inuyasha chuckled.

"Then I guess I'll have to think of another reason to do it again soon," he replied. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, there's New Year's Eve," I said. "It's a tradition to kiss at midnight." Inuyasha smirked.

"You'll have to tell me about that," he replied. "…later." He smiled once more, then leaned down to kiss me again.

It truly was a Merry Christmas.

 **FIN**

I hope you all enjoyed my first holiday fic! I hope you all have a blessed Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or whichever holiday you celebrate and a wonderful New Year!

Much love and happy holidays! :)


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